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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Austria, Tyrol

Tiroler BergkäseTiroler Bergkäse g.U.

Tiroler Bergkäse is a hard mountain cheese of raw hay milk, partly skimmed, set with calf rennet and lactic cultures. The curd is scalded at about 52 °C, pressed and brined, then ripened in humid cellars while the rind is washed with salt water twice a week. The wheels weigh at least 12 kg. Made in 8 steps over 3 months. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 3 months (Innerbichler H 2026). Salt is 20 % (Application for registration 'Tiroler Bergkäs…). Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lacticaseibacillus casei group from the raw milk do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsReported[innerb2026]Ripen
Temperature52 °CSet[eu1996][bmluk]Scald the curd
Salt20 %Set[eu1996][bmluk]Brine the wheels
AciditypH 5.3Set[eu1996][bmluk]Brine the wheels

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives temperatures and brine strength but no batch amounts. A wheel weighs at least 12 kg.
Raw hay milk from North or East Tyrol · Cows fed mainly grass and hay, with no fermented feed; the milk may not be carried from one dairy to another[spec2007][eu1996]
Lactic acid bacteria cultures[spec2007]
Calf rennet · Calf stomach rennet only; no substitutes or genetically modified rennet[spec2007][bmluk]
Salt · As a brine of about 20 % sodium chloride[eu1996][bmluk]
Smear cultures · Added to the brine only when the needed microbes are missing, such as in new equipment[eu1996]
Starter: lactic acid bacteria cultures (choice left to the dairy)

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 months

Start
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What changes: Cream is taken off the raw hay milk until about 3 % fat is left

Step 1 of 8
Partly skim the raw milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
L. delbrueckii
Lacticaseibacillus casei

The milk is not heated above milking temperature and not centrifugally cleaned. Output: part-skimmed raw milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

It is a valley-dairy mountain cheese of raw hay milk that is partly skimmed, scalded at about 52 °C and given a washed smear rind. A 2026 study found its starter gives it more Lactobacillus delbrueckii and more free amino acids than a Tyrolean Bergkäse made without the PDO rules.

Rind
Smeared and dried on, brownish-yellow to brown
Size
Wheel of at least 12 kg
Composition
Fat in dry matter at least 45 %, water at most 40 %, dry matter at least 60 %

Related ferments

Safety

The cheese is made from raw milk, but the high scald, about 20 % brine and long ripening make it a hard cheese. ANSES lists hard cooked cheeses such as Gruyère and Comté as the raw-milk cheeses that vulnerable people may still eat.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Making fat mountain cheese spread through Tyrol in the 1840s, to make the large milk supply of the lower Inn valleys keep and travel. The name was registered as a PDO in 1997.

  1. [eu1996] Application for registration 'Tiroler Bergkäse g.U.' under Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, summary sheet (EN), eAmbrosia file PDO-AT-1416spec
  2. [spec2007] Österreichisches Patentamt, HA 7/2007, Einziges Dokument 'Tiroler Bergkäse' (G/AT/1416/95/07/03) under Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (archived copy)spec
  3. [bmluk] BMLUK Traditionelle Lebensmittel, 'Tiroler Bergkäse g.U.'gov
  4. [innerb2026] Innerbichler H., Trockenbacher A., Höller A. et al. 2026, Characterization of Tiroler Bergkäse PDO cheese, a multimethodological approach, Food Chemistry - Molecular Sciences 100336paper
  5. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov